Published: Tuesday, October 1, 2013 at 11:06 PM.

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When owner Audrey Jones started Jones Grill in July, she had no idea what waited for her in the bushes.

“I happened to look behind the restaurant and saw a wild, pregnant cat,” she said. “Next thing you know, she has babies and we’ve got cats all over the place.”

Jones says there are up to seven or eight feral cats that come together in the shrubbery around the building on U.S. 70. Jones and staff workers will occasionally leave plates of food for the felines, but the interaction has turned into a bigger issue.

“They’re getting friendlier and getting closer to the highway,” Jones said. “I don’t want them to get run over.”

Don’s Barber and Style Shop — which sits next to Jones Grill — has dealt with some of the stray cats. One of the barbers, Ritchie Riley, said he’s seen three or four around the shop.

“You never know what could happen and you definitely can’t have trash around,” Riley said. “They will get in there easily.”

When owner Audrey Jones started Jones Grill in July, she had no idea what waited for her in the bushes.

“I happened to look behind the restaurant and saw a wild, pregnant cat,” she said. “Next thing you know, she has babies and we’ve got cats all over the place.”

Jones says there are up to seven or eight feral cats that come together in the shrubbery around the building on U.S. 70. Jones and staff workers will occasionally leave plates of food for the felines, but the interaction has turned into a bigger issue.

“They’re getting friendlier and getting closer to the highway,” Jones said. “I don’t want them to get run over.”

Don’s Barber and Style Shop — which sits next to Jones Grill — has dealt with some of the stray cats. One of the barbers, Ritchie Riley, said he’s seen three or four around the shop.

“You never know what could happen and you definitely can’t have trash around,” Riley said. “They will get in there easily.”

“They probably need to get rid of them,” Creech said. “They can get around peoples’ cars and I’m scared one could get in someone’s motor.”

Lenoir County SPCA board member Susan Picard said the shelter has problems taking in some of the cats. Although some feral felines can be friendly, quite a few are the opposite way.

“We can’t keep them with all of the adoptables if they become unsociable and aggressive,” Picard said. “If they’re a risk to the workers, we can’t allow them to come in.”

Picard also said it can be difficult to tell whether the cat is acting wild because of its nature or because of someone trapping it.

“I have nine cats and if they were trapped, they could behave aggressively,” Picard said. “It’s a hard decision trying to determine between feral and fearful.”

Denise Hilton, the campaign manager of Alley Cat Rescue, a national organization that helps to protect and save cats, sent a message to The Free Press on Monday. It stated, “We do have a (capture and release) program. Each cat is fixed, vaccinated, dewormed, de-fleaed, ear tipped, and micro-chipped. The cost to the caretaker is $50 for males and $60 for female cats. We do not re-trap and update rabies shots.

“On occasion, if a cat becomes ill, we will update the vaccines while the cat is at the veterinarian’s office. I believe the number of cats we have fixed or saved is over 20,000.”

Jones is hoping to find people with humane solutions in ridding the cats from the area.

“I just don’t want to see them put down,” Jones said.

Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.